Product Description:

Situated near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Entertainment Museum is an interactive destination that celebrates the history of Tinseltown like none other. This program is filled with fascinating information on the entertainment industry, and the featured exhibits are a veritable studio pass for anyone who has ever wanted to visit makeup and wardrobe or walk in the footsteps of Sam Malone and Kathryn Janeway on the classic sets of Cheers and Star Trek: Voyager. One 28-minute video.

#9102 Film & Filmmakers - The Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas and Bill Moyers (Run time 57 min.) DVD $89.95

The struggle between heroes and villains and the influence of a higher force are the essence of mythology and resonate within all cultures, providing storytellers with a natural framework for spinning tales. In this program, George Lucas discusses his efforts to tell old myths in new ways, the role of faith in his own life, and the influence of his mentor, Joseph Campbell. Using extensive film clips from the Star Wars saga, the discussion explores how the continuing battle between the forces of light and darkness is best waged when we believe in a force greater than ourselves. Lucas says that Star Wars is ultimately about a quest for personal transformation and that key to this journey is a deep faith and an appreciation for friendship, honor, and trust. (57 minutes)

According to outspoken film critic Robert McKee, any greatness of Citizen Kane must lie in its style; substance, he argues, is distinctly lacking. In this program, McKee skewers the content of cinema's sacred cow and charges Orson Welles with artistic overkill, dubiously praising the movie's cinematic effects as "a virtuoso display of camera technique, declamatory symbols, and bravura sound devices-all screaming for attention." Numerous film clips are used to explore Welles' signature camera work, while commentary by renowned director Ken Russell and Boston University's Raymond Carney adds a touch of balance to this controversial deconstruction. (27 minutes, b&w)

FADE IN: A stage, upon which sit award-winning playwright and screenwriter Mark St. Germain, two-time Emmy-nominated Freaks and Geeks creator and writer Paul Feig, actor and writer Bobby Garabedian, and producer Belen Santos. In two straight-talking forums, they advise today's flock of would-be screenwriters on what makes a character compelling, how plot points should be used in a three-act structure, how to get good representation for a script once it is written, and why it is important to know the rules...before breaking them. (33 minutes)

#33726 Film & Filmmakers - TV and Film Writers in Hollywood: Learning to Succeed (Run time 32 min.) DVD $89.95

This program provides the essentials for writing for television and feature films. David McFadzean and Matt Williams, writers for such primetime television programs as Roseanne and The Cosby Show, discuss what they call the "grueling" cycle of writing for the medium. They advise would-be writers how to take and learn from criticism, and that any immorality in stories should be constructed within the context of morality. In addition, McFadzean speaks of the difficulties of writing and selling a screenplay in the film industry, defining a good screenwriter as "someone who goes from failure to failure with enthusiasm." An essential overview of what any aspiring teleplay or screenwriter should expect in Hollywood. (32 minutes)

#37667 Film & Filmmakers - Film Production (Run time 24 min.) DVD $89.95

Women who have developed successful careers in the motion picture industry now share their stories with students. This program profiles Vali Fugulin, a director of short films and documentaries; Braydon Haggardy, a camera assistant specializing in underwater cinematography; and Cynthia Greer, a technician who repairs and maintains movie cameras. Remarks from co-workers and supervisors provide additional layers to the descriptions of each job. (24 minutes)

What book would Americans most like to see the next President take to the White House? In this program, Bill Moyers reports on viewers' responses to that intriguing question-and reveals a pick of his own. Moyers also speaks with president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, who is being courted by Republicans and Democrats alike for the voters he could sway in November's election. Also on the program, media and politics expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson analyzes the results of Super Tuesday '08. A Bill Moyers essay on the Oscar-nominated film Taxi to the Dark Side rounds out the program. Broadcast date: February 8, 2008. (58 minutes)

What is it like to work in one of the world's most exciting communications industries? Going behind the scenes on the set of the TV show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, this program provides an inside look at careers in television and film. Interviews with industry professionals provide a clear picture of the training, duties, and job opportunities offered by the positions of producer, assistant producer, director, assistant director, stuntperson, special effects technician, makeup artist, wardrobe specialist, camera operator, lighting technician, audio technician, gaffer, grip, and best boy. A Meridian Production. (26 minutes)

After the veritable riot that ensued from his 1938 radio directorial effort, "The War of the Worlds," Hollywood recognized the extraordinary genius of Orson Welles. A contract with RKO Studios and full creative control over his masterpiece Citizen Kane soon followed...and then he married Rita Hayworth. This robust program juxtaposes the biographies of Welles and Hayworth. Career pressure led to the end of their marriage: Hayworth's iconic portrayal in the title role of Gilda, and Welles' The Stranger are discussed, among others, as well as the testimony to their only collaborative effort, The Lady from Shanghai. (27 minutes, color and b&w)

In 1940s American cinema, they were made for each other. This magnificent program captures how Frank Capra used James Stewart to project a message of an ideal America, perhaps best illustrated in their 1946 collaboration, It's a Wonderful Life. It also details their biographies and first meeting on the set of 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Stewart's later career is examined-primarily his collaborations with Hitchcock on Rope, Rear Window, and Vertigo-but the program argues that Stewart's time with Capra produced a cinematic "ideal vision of what man could be." (27 minutes, color and b&w)

Brando and Kazan: two dynamic forces of heightened realism who used each other to further their aims. This valuable program goes behind the scenes of some of their best-known collaborations-A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront-to illustrate how Kazan was like a father figure to Brando, challenging him to excel. Both men's careers leading up to their first meeting at Lee Strasberg's Actors' Studio are highlighted. The program also conveys Kazan's socially conscious political philosophy and how he integrated it into the films of his later years, particularly The Last Tycoon. (28 minutes, color and b&w)

As an investigative journalist in Austria-Hungary, Billy Wilder espoused ideals that would be the themes in his later films: a play of ambiguity; changes of identity; and a fascination for America. This compassionate program explains how Wilder used these themes to craft Marilyn Monroe's performances in The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot. Their joyful complicity is best illustrated in Wilder's Fedora, sequel to his masterpiece Sunset Boulevard and made 16 years after Monroe's untimely death; the film is his dedication to the actress whose talent and charm he argued would never be duplicated in Hollywood. (30 minutes, color and b&w)

They helped to instill the mythic qualities of the cowboy in American cinema. This powerhouse program focuses on the friendship of John Wayne and John Ford, beginning with their first meeting in 1928 and spanning their collaboration over 130 pictures, 14 of which were made without a contract-unheard of in 21st-century Hollywood. The program analyzes chiefly their work in Stagecoach and Red River, as well as Fort Apache, one of the first pro-Native American films, and The Alamo, which Wayne directed. Their efforts in World War II-Wayne's at home, Ford's abroad-and the war's effect on their later work are also considered. An ideal resource for the American film historian. (28 minutes, color and b&w)

#10387 Film & Filmmakers - Robert Redford and the Sundance Film Institute (Run time 52 min.) DVD $129.95

Each year, aspiring filmmakers are invited to work with seasoned professionals at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Institute in an atmosphere that encourages creativity and experimentation. This program tracks the progress of two workshop participants as they receive advice on dialogue from Julius Epstein, writer of Casablanca, and on plot from Ring Lardner, Jr., writer of M*A*S*H; edit film with Paul Hirsch, editor of Star Wars; and discuss motivation with Redford himself, known at the Institute as "Ordinary Bob." Free from the commercial pressures of Hollywood, Sundance projects have scored notable successes with alternative films such as Desert Bloom, El Norte, and The Promised Land. (52 minutes)

Unique in character, content, and structure, the films of Atom Egoyan are as far removed from conventional cinematography as Toronto, his home base, is removed geographically from Hollywood. In this interview, the brilliant director and screenwriter talks about the films and filmmakers that have influenced him, the state of contemporary filmmaking, the price of critical and commercial success, his love of opera, the themes that populate his work, and his Armenian heritage. Clips from his films, including Oscar nominee The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, The Adjuster, and Felicia's Journey, illustrate his visionary artistic style. (53 minutes)

In 1927, London audiences got their first taste of a Hitchcock masterpiece with The Lodger. This program traces the first half of Alfred Hitchcock's life, looking at his upbringing, education, and incredible rise as a director. Along the way, the video details his apprenticeship with Fritz Lang, his production of the first British "talkie," Blackmail, his move to Hollywood, a tumultuous collaboration with David O. Selznick, and the formation of his own short-lived studio. Footage from The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Under Capricorn highlights his use of montage, the "10-minute take," and his philosophy of "pure cinema." Also featured is a wealth of commentary from actors, writers, daughter Pat Hitchcock, and the director himself, including excerpts from Francois Truffaut's famed 26-hour interview. A BBCW Production. (51 minutes)

As this program illustrates, Alfred Hitchcock would take even bigger risks and attain greater success in the second half of his career. Film clips, stills, and commentary from Hitchcock, actors, and production specialists help chronicle the making of such classics as The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo, and Psycho. Footage also looks at Hitchcock's ambivalence toward the popular TV show that brought him into millions of living rooms. Along with extensive discussions with Hitchcock himself, interviews include Tippy Hedren; Karen Black; Bruce Dern; director Peter Bogdanovich; Evan Hunter, screenwriter of The Birds; and Joe Stefano, screenwriter of Psycho. Materials previously unavailable include outtakes and screen tests. A BBCW Production. (51 minutes)

This program is a virtual "how to" on the theatrical and video distribution business. In two presentations, Steve Rothenberg, president of domestic distribution at Artisan Entertainment, explains today's tough movie industry mentality and how to beat what he calls "the theatrical game." The specifics of test screenings, when to release films, and what determines niche, platform, exclusive, and wide-scale releases are covered. In addition, Robert Tollini, former senior vice president of marketing for Major Video Concepts, drives home the importance of commerce and breaks down the significance of video in sell-through and rental markets. A powerhouse resource on the business of the movies. (51 minutes)

This menu-driven program is a virtual "how to" on the theatrical and video distribution business. In two presentations, Steve Rothenberg, president of domestic distribution at Artisan Entertainment, explains today's tough movie industry mentality and how to beat what he calls "the theatrical game." The specifics of test screenings, when to release films, and what determines niche, platform, exclusive, and wide-scale releases are covered. In addition, Robert Tollini, former senior vice president of marketing for Major Video Concepts, drives home the importance of commerce and breaks down the significance of video in sell-through and rental markets. A powerhouse resource on the business of the movies. (54 minutes)

Surrealist cinema sought to break with the conventional linear narrative style in favor of chance events and a world of the subconscious. This penetrating program featuring Alan Williams, author of Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking, analyzes the origin, evolution, and legacy of a cinematic movement whose stylistic artifacts can still be found in today's mass culture. Background on Dadaism-and the seismic historical events that gave birth to it-sets the stage for a nuanced discussion of Surrealism and its use of cinema to best express the movement's vision during its heyday and since. Key figures of Dadaism and Surrealism are highlighted, as are important films such as La Coquille et le Clergyman, L'Etoile de Mer, and Bunuel's iconic Un Chien Andalou and L'Age d'Or. A Films for the Humanities & Sciences Production. (39 minutes)

In this program, artist, filmmaker, and dramatist William Kentridge demonstrates his remarkable filmmaking technique-stop-action animation using photos of charcoal drawings in which he has erased and redrawn scenes in different arrangements-as he works on Stereoscope. Footage from that piece as well as from History of the Main Complaint; Felix in Exile; Sobriety, Obesity & Growing Old; Mine; and Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City After Paris powerfully illustrates his abiding concerns with the sociopolitical legacy of racial oppression and colonialism in South Africa. The film clips also reveal how his polemical "drawings for projection" evoke a nuanced sense of time's passage as each image builds upon the shadowy remnants of prior ones. (52 minutes)

Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North created the very genre of film documentary, with its documentation of Nanook the Inuit and the Eskimo traditions which were even then being threatened by the influences of whites. This program revisits the site of Flaherty's filming, and learns that he staged much of what he filmed, sired children to whose future he paid no heed, and is himself now part of Inuit myth. (60 minutes)

This richly personal documentary uses first-person narration, artwork, film clips, and photographs to trace the life and achievements of this legendary artist and filmmaker. Rare and extensive footage from several important films, including Battleship Potemkin and Ivan the Terrible, illustrates the use of montage and subject-to-subject camera cuts-techniques developed by Eisenstein that revolutionized filmmaking. His relationships with celebrities such as Walt Disney, D. W. Griffith, Jean Cocteau, and Albert Einstein are explored within the context of Eisenstein's meteoric rise to fame from promising artist and set designer to master filmmaker. (57 minutes)

#12065 Film & Filmmakers - Luis Bunuel (Run time 75 min.) DVD $149.95

Completed a year after his death in 1983, this program presents the definitive biography of Spain's renowned Surrealist film maker and iconoclast, Luis Bunuel. Using photographs, film excerpts, and numerous interviews with Bunuel, the video chronicles his early friendships with Salvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca, the stormy reactions to many of his groundbreaking films, and the influence he has had on international cinema. Among those interviewed are directors Federico Fellini, John Huston, and Jose L. Saenz De Heredia; Bunuel's wife, Jeanne Rucar, and son Juan; actor Francisco Rabal; and Octavio Paz. (Spanish with English subtitles, 75 minutes)

Effortlessly making the leap from stage to cinema, the plays of William Shakespeare have enjoyed decades of popularity in theaters on both sides of the Atlantic. This program combines clips from significant movie productions with an eclectic group of interviews to demonstrate the Bard's uncanny ability to fire the modern imagination-especially through the medium of film. Excerpts from Julie Taymor's Titus and Kenneth Branagh's musical Love's Labour's Lost as well as classic footage from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, Peter Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Othello with Laurence Fishburn are included. (50 minutes)

For the cost of tuition, an independent filmmaker could do a feature-length movie-so why go to film school? Three film students at Columbia and New York Universities, along with NYU alumnus Spike Lee, talk about why school was right for them and how academic experience helps them as filmmakers. The strengths and differences of the two schools are discussed by numerous professors, including Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Bruce Ferguson, dean of Columbia's School of the Arts; Janet Roach, Columbia screenwriting professor; Bill Reilly, NYU directing professor; and Annette Insdorf, Columbia film history professor. This program provides a good sense of what a film curriculum is all about and how these skills and opportunities can be put to use creatively as well as financially. (43 minutes)

A pioneer of video art in the 1970s, Bill Viola has spent three decades creating evocative motion-picture and sound installations. This program gets inside his creative process, recording his reflections on his life and work. Exploring his childhood, his struggles as a student, and his feelings about his mother's death, the program focuses on Viola's intuitive sensibility and his approach to universal human experiences. His recollections of nearly drowning as a boy, and his statements on childbirth and its resonance in Medieval and Renaissance art, underscore the spirituality and scope of his vision. Also included is the bonus feature Bill Viola and the Making of Emergence, used with permission, (c) J. Paul Getty Trust. (75 minutes)

Hitler's invasion of Russia and Germany's post-WWII partition inspired a great deal of animated Soviet propaganda. This program presents short films that disparage fascist aggression and America's supposed continuation of it. Fascist Boots and Cinema Circus vilify Hitler and the Nazi invaders; A Lesson Not Learned plays on Russian fears of a reunited, vengeful, and American-supported Germany; and Vasilok, The Adventures of the Young Pioneers, and Pioneer's Violin are stories about brave and loyal Soviet children encountering and standing up to fascism. Fourteen films total, plus commentary from Russian State Film School professor Igor Kokarev, writer and cultural historian Vladimir Paperny, and actor/producer Oleg Vidov. (140 minutes) Portions are in Russian with English subtitles.

#37568 Film & Filmmakers - Sex, Censorship, and the Silver Screen: From the Depression to WWII (Run time 73 min.) DVD $149.95

In what many see as Hollywood's Golden Age, the offices of William Hays and Joseph Breen worked overtime to combat sexuality and subversion in American movies. This program examines the products of that era-films that danced around the standards of the Production Code and paved the way for increasingly daring storytelling and images. From the modesty of It Happened One Night to the shocking and nearly prohibited use of "damn" in Gone with the Wind to the ambiguous morality of Double Indemnity, the program surveys the achievements of Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Errol Flynn, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Jane Russell, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, and other screen artists. The forces that led to Hays's dismissal and the weakening of the Code are discussed in depth. (72 minutes)

After World War II, the wholesomeness of American movies faced a tidal wave of change-from outside, as a growing number of provocative foreign films made their way to the U.S., and from within, as car culture flowered and drive-in theaters sprang up across the country. This program documents the period, from the birth of art house cinema to the ascent of boundary-busting American actors and directors like Marlon Brando and Stanley Kubrick. Studying the shifting moral standards that Hollywood, Italian cinema, and the French New Wave signaled-and which the Catholic Legion of Decency resisted tooth and nail-the program features groundbreaking scenes from The Miracle, Baby Doll, Lolita, and other films. The 1952 Supreme Court decision granting First Amendment protection to motion pictures is also highlighted. (59 minutes)

#37570 Film & Filmmakers - Sex, Censorship, and the Silver Screen: The Late 1960s to the '90s (Run time 62 min.) DVD $149.95

In 1965, the Catholic Legion of Decency closed its doors; the following year, the Hays Code was scrapped. This program looks at the cinematic milestones which prompted these events and the age of freewheeling film artistry that ensued, despite attempts at censorship issuing from the highest political level. Shedding light on the release of The Pawnbroker and director Sidney Lumet's historic confrontation with the Legion, the program showcases the forging of the MPAA rating system and the eventual association of the "X" classification with pornography-notwithstanding the artistic triumphs of Midnight Cowboy and A Clockwork Orange. The impact of AIDS, the struggle against child pornography, and the creation of the NC-17 rating are also illuminated. (62 minutes)

FADE IN: A stage, upon which sit award-winning playwright and screenwriter Mark St. Germain, two-time Emmy-nominated Freaks and Geeks creator and writer Paul Feig, actor and writer Bobby Garabedian, producer Belen Santos, Roseanne writer David McFadzean, and The Cosby Show writer Matt Williams. In short, people who know their stuff. In this double-length DVD, they advise today's flock of would-be screenwriters on the trials and tribulations of writing in show business, from creating characters and mapping plot points to taking criticism and dealing with difficulties in selling. An essential overview of what any aspiring teleplay or screenwriter should expect in Hollywood. (64 minutes)

Over a 60-year career, he was known as the master of suspense. Today, his name is synonymous with the genre. This two-part series presents the definitive examination of the life and works of Alfred Hitchcock. Each program features extensive film clips, interviews, commentary, and previously unavailable materials, including outtakes, filmed auditions, and Hitchcock's own home movies. Original BBCW broadcast title: Hitch. 2-part series, 51 minutes each.

When it comes to Hollywood, inspiration can only take aspiring actors, screenwriters, and directors so far-business know-how is a must. In this detailed three-part series filmed at Indiana's Heartland Film Festival, prominent Hollywood producers, writers, and executives provide expert commentary that strikes a necessary balance between business and creative aspects of the film and television industries. 3-part series, 32-51 minutes each.

When it comes to Hollywood, inspiration can only take aspiring actors, screenwriters, and directors so far-business know-how is a must. In this menu-driven two-part series filmed at Indiana's Heartland Film Festival, prominent Hollywood producers, writers, and executives provide expert commentary that strikes a necessary balance between business and creative aspects of the film and television industries. 2-part series, 54-64 minutes each.

Making movies is a collaborative effort and at the heart of it is the vision of the director, as executed by the actor. This vibrant five-part series examines the working relationships of some of Hollywood's most revered actor/director teams: Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, James Stewart and Frank Capra, Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando, Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne and John Ford. Each actor was the director's instrument in the creation of some of American cinema's most colossal works. An essential mixture of production lore, cinematic scholarship, and film clips from landmark productions. 5-part series, 27-30 minutes each.

Here is an exclusive opportunity to view rare films and footage never before seen outside the former Soviet Union. From the Lenin era to the dawn of perestroika, this four-part series provides an in-depth look at the spectacular animation produced by the Soviet propaganda machine. As bold and expressive as they are vitriolic and disturbing, these films open a window into the mentality of Soviet leadership during much of the 20th century-paranoid, defiant, and fully capable of constructing a magnificent aesthetic landscape. In separate installments or as a series, this is a powerful teaching tool for Russian history, political science, and media studies courses. Portions are in Russian with English subtitles. 4-part series, 106-152 minutes each.

Hollywood's history is, in a sense, a narrative of the battle between artistic freedom and heavy-handed restriction. This four-part series conveys that narrative through a progression of archival film clips spanning the bulk of motion picture history. In terms of the richness and sheer quantity of the selected footage, students will encounter few film studies resources that equal these programs; engaging voice reenactments from correspondence and the public record also shape the story. From Edison's innocuous Kinetoscope kiss to Brando's animal intensity in A Streetcar Named Desire to the unabashed eroticism of Basic Instinct, the series chronicles a parade of cinematic sins and the pious and bureaucratic reprisals they inspired. 4-part series, 50-72 minutes each.